up next, the fiscal cliff. president obama is in campaign mode while republicans are considering -- well, considering. can the president pull off a historic victory? maybe, you're watching hardball. the place for politics. >> welcome back to "hardball." last night, john boehner met one-on-one to crunch a fiscal deal. tfts the first time the two men met alone like this since the summer of 2011. the president was in michigan speaking before autoworkers and selling his tax plan. >> if congress doesn't act soon, meaning the next few weeks, starting on january 1st, everyone is going to see their income taxes go um. it's true. you all don't like that. we can solve this problem. all congress needs to do is pass a law that could prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of everybody's income. everybody. [ applause ] that means 98% of americans and probably a hundred percent of ewe. >> some americans are slowly but steadily facing on the reality of fiscal americans. >> there is a growing group of folks that are looking a